Bidding begins on Pattaya Beach sand-refill project

Friday, 27 June 2014 From Issue Vol. XXII No. 26
By
Jetsada Homklin

Bidding is underway to choose a contractor that will begin the eight-month process of rebuilding Pattaya Beach’s eroding shoreline.

At city hall’s monthly press conference June 13, city council members Athiwit Wattanasartsathorn and Banjong Banthoonprayuk said Pattaya has transferred 400 million baht to the Marine Department to begin the sand-refill project starting from the Dusit Curve.

Once a contractor is selected and begins work, the project is expected to take six to eight months.

The beach-refill project is already behind schedule. In April, Marine Department director Raewat Potriang said the project was supposed to begin in May.

City Hall is now taking bids to choose a contractor that will begin the eight-month, in excess of 400 million baht process of rebuilding Pattaya Beach’s eroding shoreline. The massive restoration project was deemed necessary after environmental experts predicted erosion would wipe out Pattaya Beach within five years if nothing was done.

The first work to be done will be adding sand to the beach between the Dusit Curve and Central Road. The second phase runs to South Road while the third phase restores shoreline down to Bali Hai Pier. The total project cost is estimated at 468 million baht.

Emergency work was performed on the Dusit Curve last year, adding sand to 193 meters of severely eroded beachfront while officials lobbied for funding for a more-permanent solution. The massive restoration project was deemed necessary after environmental experts predicted erosion would wipe out Pattaya Beach within five years if nothing was done.

Councilman Rattanachai Sutidechanai said additional work has since been done to lay sandbags in hard-hit areas, most recently opposite Central Festival Pattaya Beach.

This article was published in the Pattaya Mail newspaper on Friday June 27, 2014 (Vol. XXII No. 26).